Wingless
by perfectworry
Summary: The intrepid travelers find themselves in a world where some people have cat ears and children engage in dangerous spell battles. With the help of some familiar faces, they'll have to fight to win Sakura's feather. Kuro/Fay, Sakura/Syaoran
1. Chapter 1: Fateless

**Chapter One: Fateless**

Fay was the first one of them to wake up in the next world. He pulled himself up and surveyed their surroundings. The room was plain; there was a desk with some unfathomable square object on it, a bed where Sakura and Syaoran lay together with Mokona, and a dresser. Kurogane and himself were on two futons on the floor.

At first, Fay couldn't quite put his finger on what it was about the world they were in that seemed _off_ somehow. He could feel the faint tug of magic in the air, the feeling localized around the third finger on his left hand, which was curious. Fay leaned back and rubbed his eyes, then opened them again, trying to get a fresh look.

Sakura rolled over in her sleep, turning from facing Syaoran to facing Fay, and Fay realized what it was about her that looked different. He wondered how he'd missed it, now that he had it figured out. On her head sat a dainty little pair of cat ears, sandy brown like her hair, and lined with a soft pink. Fay could see a matching, cat-like tail curled around her leg. He looked past her at Syaoran, and sure enough, he had also acquired these additional appendages, though to Fay they looked more like dog ears and a tail. He laughed a little, remembering their time in Outo, before turning his attention to Kurogane.

His quite chuckling turned into irrepressible laughter when he saw them; on top of Kurogane's head were a pair of pointed black ears and as Fay crawled over him to check, sure enough he discovered a fuzzy black tail. He couldn't help but tug it.

Kurogane jerked awake and rolled over, catching Fay by surprise.

"Big Puppy," Fay laughed.

"What the hell are you talking about?" growled Kurogane. "I thought we'd left those stupid names behind."

Fay smiled and shook his head, then pointed wordlessly to the mirror above them. Kurogane rose to see himself, and Fay followed suit. He was surprised to find that he had _not_ acquired the additional appendages that his companions had.

"How come _you_ don't have them?" demanded Kurogane, as he tugged at his own dog ears. Fay shrugged and held up his hands, the very picture of innocence. He honestly had no idea.

The commotion woke Sakura and Syaoran, who both sat up blearily. Fay smiled as Syaoran wiggled away from his princess as a flush colored his cheeks.

"Good morning," Fay said brightly. He indicated for them to look in the mirror themselves. The only other one not to have gained the tail and additional ears was Mokona.

"Ho~e?" Sakura blushed and covered her cat ears with her hands. "Do I look strange?" she asked, eyes darting from the mirror, to Syaoran, and back again. Syaoran shook his head furiously while covering his own new pair of ears. Sakura took his hands in her own, so that neither of them could hide their new appearance.

"I think you look cute, Sakura-chan." Fay smiled reassuringly.

"D-d'you really?"

"You look lovely. Just like a little kitty."

Sakura smiled up at him, and Fay's heart melted a little bit.

"Well I think they're stupid," said Kurogane. "The sooner we can get rid of them, the better. Are there any feathers on this world, pork bun?"

"Mokona is not a pork bun!" Mokona bounced from the pillows onto Kurogane's head, where it latched onto the new puppy ears. Kurogane attempted to pry it off, but it refused to let go.

"Mokona, do you sense any feathers in this world?" Fay interrupted.

Mokona paused for a moment, without loosening it's grip on Kurogane. It's ears stood straight up, then straight out. They moved in a series of configurations that, on certain worlds by certain people, would be recognized as naval signals. "It's hard to say," it admitted. "There's a lot of magic in this world, but Mokona _thinks_ there's a feather here somewhere."

"Go find it, then," said Kurogane gruffly.

"Well, then, let's get going."

*

Fay followed Kurogane out the door of the room they were in. The two of them went first, followed by Syaoran and finally Sakura and Mokona, just in case. There was no need to worry, however, as they were greeted by a familiar face: Arisugawa Sorata stuck his head out of one of the doors in the tiny hallway, grinning and waving. He didn't have the additional ears, either.

"Sorata-san!" cried Syaoran, surprised.

"Have I introduced myself?" asked Sorata; his accent was the same as it had been in the Hanshin Republic.

"Ah - that is - uhm - I," stammered Syaoran. He wrung his hands.

"You must have met another me." Sorata smiled and their surprise. "I know about the other worlds, and people's essences," his eyes swept across their faces to ascertain that they understood what he meant. "Arashi and myself owe the Time-Space Witch a favor."

Fay and Kurogane looked at each other over Syaoran and Sakura's heads, eyebrows raised. It sounded very familiar; perhaps more than only people's essences, people's circumstances were somehow similar in all of the different worlds? They didn't have time for much in the way philosophizing, as Arashi herself swept into view.

"Don't make them stand in the hallway," she said, moving Sorata aside and beckoning the travelers to follow her into the tiny dining room. There wasn't really room around the low table for the six of them, so Sakura and Syaoran shared a side, as did Kurogane and Fay. Sorata and Arashi sat kitty-corner to each other, hands folded together over the table.

"My hunny knew you were coming." Sorata said cheerfully. "I hope the room was comfy."

"Yes, thank you very much," gushed Sakura. She smiled widely at Sorata and Arashi; though she had slept through most of their time in the Hanshin Republic, she remembered their kindness to her and her companions and hoped that she could repay it somehow in this world.

Fay was watching Syaoran, who blushed a little at Sakura's exuberance. Fay didn't think he was embarrassed by her bubbly personality, far from it, but at having been placed beside her in the one bed, rather than on the floor in a futon.

"We only had the two futons," said Arashi, interrupting the silent conversation Fay and Syaoran had been having through a series of exchanged glances and small gestures. Fay was trying to tell him not to be embarrassed. "I hope you two did not mind sharing the bed."

"Oh, no! Not at all!" Sakura's smile widened and Syaoran's blush deepened. She turned to him, brows furrowed suddenly. "Unless, Syoaran-kun..."

"Ah! No." Syaoran shook his head, and Sakura's smile returned.

Arashi raised her eyebrows and gave Sorata, Kurogane and Fay a knowing smile, which Fay and Sorata returned in kind. Kurogane just nodded gruffly and looked away.

*

"Embarrassed, Kuro-tan?" asked Fay as they walked through the city. Mokona was sure there was a feather somewhere, but it was unable to tell exactly where. There was nothing for it except to go out and explore the old fashioned way.

"By what?" Kurogane frowned. He didn't take his eyes of Syaoran's back.

"Oh, _you _know," laughed Fay, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Your idiocy? Yes, as a matter of fact, I am."

Fay laughed again, but didn't press the issue.

As in the Hanshin Republic, Sorata and Arashi had provided them with clothing that would blend in and an explanation of the magic both Fay and Mokona could feel simmering in the air. There was a system here, of spell battles fought with words in teams of two, a fighter who did the damage to the other team and the sacrifice who accepted it. Unlike the Hanshin Republic, where everyone had a _kudan_, not everyone had a "true name," and therefore not everyone participated in these battles. Even with her strong spiritual powers, Arashi didn't know whether or not the travelers would be bound up in this system or not.

"If you're destined to be part of the game, you will know. Your name will appear somewhere on your body." She had pushed her collar to the side slightly, where they could see the strange letters that spelled out the name she shared with Sorata: FATELESS.

So far, none of them had discovered such a marking on themselves, but Arashi had also warned that the markings often took a long time to appear. It was possible that, even if they had true names, they would have found the feather and moved on before they found out.

The ears and tail, Arashi and Sorata did not explain, only exchanged knowing looks and told them that perhaps it would be better if they figured that out for themselves. Sorata had made a face, earning him a smack from a fan that none of them weree Arashi had. It disappeared almost as soon as they saw it.

Now the four travelers wandered through the city, hoping to catch a stronger vibration from the feather. Mokona was sitting on Kurogane's head, ideal for his height, high above everyone else, ears perked up, straining for something that would give them a hint about where the feather was hidden.

People looked on curiously, but they never stared for more than a minute or so. Some of them had the cat ears and tail, while others didn't. There seemed to be some sort of pattern to it. All of the children they saw did, as well as some of the adults, but most adults were normal looking.

Mokona's eyes didn't open, but it fell from it's perch, paws clamped over its ears. Kurogane caught it easily in one hand.

"What is it, pork bun?"

"Kuro-meanie didn't hear it?" asked Mokona, gingerly letting go of one ear. Sakura reached out and it hopped from Kurogane's hand to Sakura's warm embrace. She pet its head gently and the unhappy look faded from Mokona's face.

"Hear what?"

"That sound, like _FWING_. It made Mokona's ears hurt." Mokona shook itself. "And Mokona couldn't feel the feather, but now Mokona can again."

"Well, that's good," said Fay. "At least you picked up the feather's waves again."

Mokona nodded. "Mokona will try really hard and make sure not to loose the feather's vibrations again!"

The next time it happened, the others felt it, too. Sakura covered her ears and Syaoran hugged her close, placing his own hands over hers. Mokona was crushed between them. Fay winced, srunching his eyes closed, and even Kurogane ground his teeth.

"That was much louder than last time," complained Mokona. "And it completely drowned out the feather's waves again!"

Fay thought about this as they made their way back to the apartment complex Sorata and Arashi resided in. More than just an unpleasantly high pitched sound, there was a hint of magic in it. That must be what was drowning out the feather's waves when Mokona heard it.

"That was the sound of another system," explained Sorata when they returned home. "If you've bumped into them and they were ready to fight, you'd hear that sound."

"Mokona didn't bump into anybody."

"We were in the park," said Syaoran. "There weren't many people near us."

"Then it's possible you heard the sound of two units engaging," mused Sorata.

"The fact that you all could hear it means you're likely to have names yourself, unless..." Arashi shook her head. "You should check yourself for them while you're getting read to go to bed. They usually appear around puberty, but since this isn't your world, it's hard to say."

"This feather you're looking for ... it's very special, isn't it?" asked Sorata.

Sakura nodded.

"Then whoever has it probably won't give it up easily. If you have names, you'll have the magical abilities to fight them for it." This came as a surprise to none of them. It had become the norm of feather hunting.

Fay winced at the thought of having to use magic; he was torn between his promise and helping Sakura, who had grown very dear to him. Beside him, Kurogane perked up at the promise of a fight; it didn't matter what kind of fight it was, he was up for it. Some niggling part of him knew that this was not what Princess Tomoyo had meant about learning the true meaning of strength, but he looked forward to it regardless.

"We'll have to go look again tomorrow." Kurogane grinned wolfishly. He was a lot more enthusiastic now that he had a fight to look forward to. The others knew him well enough by now to know that he would fight for the feather with his bare hands if he didn't have the magic required to do so the usual way.

"In the meantime, you should rest," suggested Sorata. "You'll be safe here, so don't worry about that. My hunny and I will protect you, and this is a friendly world."

"Sleep well," said Arashi.

*


	2. Chapter 2: Memoryless

**Chapter Two: Memoryless**

Sakura bundled up the nightgown Arashi had left on the bed for her and slipped modestly into the bathroom, while the other three turned away from each other to change.

"I don't see a name," said Syaoran, twisting left and right to examine his back as best he could. Not seeing anything, he pulled on his overlarge sweatshirt borrowed from Sorata.

"Me, neither," said Fay. He twisted in ways Kurogane wasn't sure should have been possible, checking the backs of his knees and the bottoms of his feet.

Kurogane shook his head. He was a little relieved, as he wasn't sure he trusted Fay enough to want to have to rely on him in a battle. The worlds they had visited had a strange way of pairing him up with Fay as though by default, since Sakura and Syaoran were clearly bound by _hitsuzen_. At least, Kurogane told himself it was by default instead of examining the _other_ possibility, which made him distinctly uncomfortable.

"Is everyone decent?" Sakura knocked gently on the paper door, and Syaoran pulled it open, beckoning her back in. "I didn't find a name," she said. "I hope I do, though. I want to be able to help everyone look for my feathers. You've all done so much for me."

"Princess..." Syaoran bowed as he helped her onto the bed. He blushed.

"Ah, young -" Fay started to say, but Kurogane elbowed him in the ribs and he shut up, for once. In retrospect, it was a good thing he did. Poor Syaoran might have exploded if Fay had finished what he intended to say. Kurogane cared about the kid more than he let on.

"We'll go look again in the morning," said Kurogane. "Names or no names, we'll get your feather back so we can get out of this world and lose these stupid ears."

Fay laughed and tugged on Kurogane's tail. He ducked out of the way before Kurogane could grab him. "Big Puppy's angry!"

"Damn straight I'm angry," growled Kurogane, "and those stupid names aren't helping."

"But now you _look_ like a big puppy," pouted Fay, who darted to the door.

"Don't remind me."

Kurogane turned to Fay, who stumbled over the futon crashed through the paper door.

"Is there a problem?" asked Sorata, appearing in the hallway again as he had earlier. He flicked on the light to see Fay on the floor in the splinters and tatters of the _shoji_.

"No," said Fay, smiling up at him. "Well, not really. Except we ruined your door. Sorry about that."

Kurogane rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. That damn magician had broken the door, and he had a feeling he would be the one fixing it, like last time they had engaged in a home repair project, in the country of Koroyo.

"We'll fix it," insisted Syaoran.

"They broke it, they can fix it." Arashi folded her arms. Kurogane opened his mouth to argue, but the fan appeared in her hands again and he remembered the bump another Arashi had given another Sorata and he decided not to press it. "Can't you?"

Kurogane grumbled in agreement. His earlier suspicion proved to be right. He did all of the work while Fay 'supervised,' just like last time. Some things never change.

"I didn't even break the damn thing," he muttered as he lacquered the new paper with paste. "This isn't my fault."

"But Kuro-pii chased me!"

"Only because you pulled my tail."

Fay laughed and looked up again at Kurogane's folded black ears and fuzzy tail. Sensing what Fay intended to do, Kurogane blocked his hand before he was able to yank his ears again.

"I don't see why you don't have them," muttered Kurogane. "They'd look good on you." Fay looked up, pleasantly surprised. "I mean," he stammered, "appropriately stupid, that is." Fay crinkled his nose, but wisely chose not to say anything.

They worked in silence after that. Or, Kurogane worked in silence while Fay 'supervised' in relative silence, except for the occasional chuckle. Arashi kept watch. (Kurogane wondered why she didn't insist on Fay helping.)

"Kuro-myu is good with his hands," said Fay sometime around two in the morning.

"I've fixed these before," he explained, smoothing the paper one final time. "They're pretty fragile."

"I noticed. Did Kuro-pon fall through one, too?"

"No," said Kurogane. "You're just not the first person I've thrown through one."

Fay laughed. "Aw, I was hoping I would be your first time."

Arashi, still seated under the _kotatsu_, smiled a little bit behind her hair. Neither Kurogane nor Fay noticed. Kurogane stood the door against the wall.

"Leave it for the night for the glue to dry," said Arashi. "You can put it back in the morning."

She stood, adjusting her silk bathrobe, and disappeared through another such door (this one still in one piece). Kurogane and Fay returned to the little room the travelers were sharing to find Sakura, Syaoran and Mokona asleep. Sakura was on her side, hugging Mokona like a doll, and Syaoran was asleep on the floor beside her, his head resting against the bed by her knees.

Kurogane went to turn off the light, but Fay stayed his hand. He knelt beside Syaoran and pointed to the sole of his foot, gesturing for Kurogane to look. Kurogane squinted down; he couldn't read the letters, but he knew what Fay meant. He nodded to indicate he knew what Fay meant and turned off the light. Fay draped his blanket over Syaoran and settled onto his futon without one.

"I'm used to the cold," he said quietly, by way of explanation.

*

When they woke the next morning, Fay found himself on Kurogane's futon. Kurogane opened one eye and the phrase _if looks could kill_, or it's Celesian equivalent, flashed through Fay's mind. He wiggled back onto his own futon.

"Used to the cold, huh?" hissed Kurogane and Fay shrugged and mimed sleeping. He hadn't even been aware he was doing it.

They were both awake and dressed before Sakura and Syaoran. They looked as though they might sleep all day if it weren't for the commotion caused by Kurogane installing the fixed _shoji_ door with Fay's attempt at help.

"Don't break it again, you idiot magician," Kurogane snarled, momentarily forgetting to keep his voice down. "Don't help. Just ... supervise."

Fay grinned wickedly. "Ah, good morning, Syaoran-kun," he said as he ducked out from under Kurogane's half-hearted attempt to hit him. "Or, I suppose good afternoon might be better."

"Afternoon!" cried Syaoran, jumping up and startling Sakura. "I overslept! We should be looking for the feathers!"

"It's all right," said Fay. "We needed to finish fixing this door," he ducked again, "and you and Sakura-chan need to rest while we're in safe worlds like this. You never know where we'll end up next. Isn't that what the Dimensional Witch said? There will be worlds full of liars, worlds full of criminals. You ought to relax while you can."

"I-I guess you're right," said Syaoran. He blushed again and looked away. His eyes landed on Fay's blanketless futon, and he looked over to the one crumpled on the floor where he had been sleeping.

Fay held a hand up before Syaoran could thank him. "Don't worry about it, I'm used to the cold." Kurogane scoffed, but quickly turned it into a cough as he finished putting the door in place. "And besides, I noticed something last night. Check the bottom of your foot."

Syaoran shot him a quizzical look, then twisted around so he could check for himself. There, on the bottom of his foot, were strange letters like the ones on Arashi's collarbone. Syaoran squinted; the letters were the same style as those in the country of Jade, like the ones his father had taught him to read in ruins. That seemed like a lifetime ago as he stood there awkwardly, puzzling out the letters, MEMORY, and then something faded and indistinct. He frowned at it, unsure what that was supposed to mean, but he started to lose his balance. Kurogane steadied him.

"I don't want to have to fix the stupid thing again." He said, and Syaoran nodded and stood with both feet planted firmly on the floor.

"Does Sakura-chan have one, too?"

Sakura rubbed her eyes sleepily and wiggled around to see the bottom of her own foot. Sure enough, there were letters; MEMORYLESS.

"So you discovered your true names," said Sorata. His habit of appearing out of nowhere was starting to get annoying. Sakura nodded, embarrassed to show him the bottom of her foot. In Clow Country, that was considered an insult, a sign of disrespect. She curled her toes in.

"I should teach you how the spell battles work, then," he said. "I can explain the basics over lunch. Or should I say breakfast?"


	3. Chapter 3: Homeless

**Chapter Three: Homeless**

Like the Sorata in the Hanshin Republic, the Sorata here was a history teacher. He used a hand puppet to explain to them how the battle system worked, including a brief background on the Seven Voices Academy, where fighters and sacrifices went to study.

"Any questions?" asked Sorata, laying the puppet down. The others shook their heads, but Syaoran raised his hand.

"Arisugawa-san," began Syaoran, but Sorata shook his head.

"Just Sorata," he said. "Or Sora-chan."

"Uhm, then, Sorata-san - Sorata - you speak differently than the other people here. Is it an older form of your language?"

Sorata laughed. "It's just an Osaka accent, Syaoran-kun."

Syaoran blushed and looked away. "I-I'm sorry, then."

"The other Sorata used an older version of his language?" asked Sorata, leaning back against the wall, feet still under the _kotatsu_. "I'm interested in the other worlds you've been to. Maybe you can tell me over dinner tonight, but in the meantime I'd recommend that you go start looking for that feather, now that you know how to fight it. You should have a few hours before it starts to get dark. It's not too dangerous around here at night, just don't get lost."

*

They set off again together, this time with some money from Sorata and a map from the train station nearby. With Mokona's help, they were able to navigate the train system.

"Mokona knows it's in the city, but Mokona's not sure where." Mokona spoke in a whisper. Sakura was carrying it in her arms like a toy, so as not to attract too much attention. They took the train in the opposite direction of the park they had been to the day before, intending to walk back to Sorata and Arashi's apartment.

Fay rubbed his hand. He felt that there was an itch he somehow could not scratch on his left ring finger and wondered if it was related to the concentration of magic he felt there.

A few times as they wandered they heard the eery, high pitched noise of another unit's radius colliding with their own. Kurogane was tense. He didn't want the kid and the princess to have to fight. He realized as they walked together that he didn't want the princess to get hurt, and as the sacrifice, it was her duty during battle to do just that. Despite his earlier relief, he was starting to hope he would have a name so that he could fight for them. He wondered when he had begun to care so much.

"Any luck, Mokona?" whispered Sakura. Mokona wiggled _no_.

The feather's vibrations came and went like waves, sometimes a little stronger, sometimes a little weaker, but always just barely on the edge of Mokona's ability to sense it. All that it knew was that the feather was somewhere in this country.

Syaoran paused a they walked, nearly causing Sakura to walk into him. He caught her gently.

"A _jinja_," said Kurogane, looking up at the gates. "They have them in my world."

"They're a type of shrine, right?" asked Syaoran. Kurogane nodded. Syaoran looked longingly at the big old pillars and the gardens beyond.

"Oh, why don't we go look?" asked Sakura, sensing Syaoran's curiosity. She took his hand and skipped under the tall gates, pulling him along behind her. He did not go unwillingly.

Kurogane lead Syaoran around the shrine, explaining the parts that were the same as his world and what they were for. Syaoran was fascinated. Sakura and Fay ambled leisurely around the grounds, looking with a much more casual eye.

They bought their fortunes for 50¥ a piece. Fay asked the _miko_ to read it to him while Sakura puzzled out her own. Noticing his frown, the priestess told him that if he didn't like it, he could tie it with the other bad ones and it wouldn't come true. Fay hoped so. He tied the knot as securely as he could.

"You didn't get a good fortune, Fay-san?" asked Sakura, placing her hands over Fay's. She furrowed her brow and looked up at him, indicating the red skin on his finger.

Fay shook his head. "What did Sakura-chan's say?"

She carefully unfolded hers and showed it to Fay, who frowned at the complicated-looking letters. "I _think_ it says that I will find what I'm looking for. Syaoran-kun taught me how to read some of the language when we were in Shura, and it looks a lot like this."

"Hold onto that one," said Fay, almost wistfully. "I hope that comes true for Sakura-chan." She smiled and tucked the fortune carefully in the little wallet Arashi had gave her. It looked suspiciously like Mokona.

They sat together on a bench, Sakura feeding the birds crumbs from her snack, some kind of candied fruit on a cracker. She'd called it a strawberry, but Fay was fairly sure it was called a cherry in his world.

Kurogane and Syaoran found them not long after that. Syaoran was blushing furiously. Fay was starting to worry about the constant blood rush to the poor kid's head. When they made it over to where Fay and Sakura were sitting, Syaoran's blush deepened and he held out his hands. He was holding what looked like a small, pink silken purse with exquisite embroidery.

"F-for you, princess."

Sakura accepted the gift with a lot of blushing and stammering of her own. She smiled at Syaoran, and Fay noticed Kurogane hold a hand out behind the kid, in case he fainted.

"It's for finding lost objects," explained Syaoran. "I mean, uhm, not that you need - I'll do anything to find -"

"I love it, thank you." Sakura held the charm against her chest, stood, and placed a quick kiss on Syaoran's cheek. Syaoran almost did fall over that time.

"Th-this is where it said what it's for," explained Syaoran, pointing to some golden characters embroidered onto the silk. "And Kurogane-san said that this is the name of the shrine. It means 'bright reign temple.'"

They were no closer to finding the feather, but Sakura seemed so happy with the charm that it almost didn't matter. Their detour had been an enjoyable one, though it was starting to get dark. They walked quickly, Mokona silently straining for any increase in the feather's waves, but to no avail.

"Puu," it said, flopping out of Sakura's arms as soon as they arrived back in Sorata and Arashi's apartment. "We're back."

"Welcome home," said Arashi, bowing. "Did you have any luck with your search?"

"No," said Sakura, shaking her head sadly, "but Syaoran-kun bought me a charm to find lost objects, and I'm sure that we will soon."

"That was so nice of Syaoran," cried Mokona, springing up into his arms, "but we'll find the feather anyway!"

"With Mokona's help, we're sure to." Mokona beamed at Syaoran.

"You didn't get in any fights?" asked Sorata.

"We heard a few of those sounds, but we didn't fight anyone," said Syaoran. "We weren't close enough, and Mokona didn't sense the feather any more strongly when they were there, so it wasn't good to risk it."

Kurogane smiled proudly.

*

The six of them crowded around the little_ kotatsu_ again. It was warm during the day, but the nights were still cold. Arashi made a pot of green tea for them, which they drank as Sakura did her best to tell Sorata about the worlds they had been to, with help from her traveling companions and voice acting from Mokona.

"I hope that's good," said Sakura, lowering her eyes. "I never got to pay back the kindness the Sorata and Arashi in the Hanshin Republic showed us, so ..."

"It was very interesting," said Sorata. "Especially Shura. It sounds a lot like parts of our history here in Japan. We have _jinja_ like that, too - like theone you went to today - and the floating world, but that's disappearing these days." He sounded a little sad, and Syaoran was reminded very strongly of the other Sorata.

"Thank you for the tale." Arashi rose gracefully and gathered the teacups. "You should rest now, if you're going to continue your search in the morning."

*

That night, there was another blanket folded up on the floor where Syaoran had slept.

"Stay on your own futon this time," muttered Kurogane, after he was sure that Syaoran and Sakura were sleeping.

Fay frowned at him in the dark and pulled his blanket up over himself. He found he had a hard time sleeping, his hand was so distractingly itchy. As a child, Fay had once found himself with a rash all over his hands when he picked poison ivy leaves instead of raspberry leaves because he was afraid of the thorns. The thorns were better then the resulting rash. Fay rolled over, away from Kurogane, and tried not to think about Celes.

As soon as he heard Arashi and Sorata moving around the house, Fay rose and tiptoed out to greet them.

"If it's no intrusion, I will prepare breakfast." Fay spoke quietly, so he wouldn't disturb his sleeping traveling companions. "I would also like to repay you for your kindness in allowing us to stay with you."

"Sorata told you, we owed a favor to the Time-Space Witch." Arashi continued with her preparations without turning to face him.

"But you didn't have to give us your bedroom," pointed out Fay. Arashi looked over her shoulder at him this time, and moved over to give him room to wash his hands. "I noticed yesterday," he explained.

He ran his hands under the water. He scalded himself and hissed, pulling his hands away. Arashi reached over and pushed the faucet handle to the other side. Tentatively, Fay stuck stuck his hands back under the water. It was cold, but it felt nice after burning himself.

He noticed a marking on his hand, were he had been rubbing all of the previous day. He went to wash it off, but on closer inspection it proved to be another word, like Arashi and Sorata's FATELESS and Syaoran and Sakura's MEMORYLESS. He frowned at it for a moment, holding his hand up and peering curiously. He could make neither heads nor tails of what it said. Arashi noticed what he was doing.

"It says 'homeless,'" she said.

Fay smiled a little bit. That wasn't a bad name to have, at least not for him. Arashi wouldn't let him near the bento, which Sorata cooed was the best bento in all of Japan, but she did allow him to make breakfast.

It was a little crowded in the tiny kitchen with the two of them cooking, but they managed. Fay rummaged up ingredients for crepes.

"More sweets," said Kurogane. "I don't know how you eat that stuff in the morning."

"Good morning, Kuro-puu," chirped Fay.

"Good morning, Arashi-san," said Kurogane. Fay wrinkled his nose.

Sorata and Arashi both took their crepes with them as they headed out the door, apologizing profusely. "If the teacher's late, the class will be in an uproar," explained Sorata as he dashed out the door.

"Good luck with your search," said Arashi, following her husband out.

"Thank you," said Sakura, trying to stifle a yawn.

Fay and Kurogane sat at the table together with Syaoran and a sleepy-headed Sakura. Despite Kurogane's complaints, he at least ate the fruit, if only to stop Fay's badgering about the importance of breakfast.

Fay noticed on Kurogane's hand a series of nearly indecipherable letters.

"You got one, too?" he asked, gesturing.

"Sometime last night," said Kurogane. "I don't know what it says, though."

"Let me see." Fay caught Kurogane's hand and compared the letters on it to his own. "It says 'homeless.' That's what Arashi-san told me."

Kurogane frowned. Homeless might be a good name for Fay, who wanted to stay as far away from his world as he could, but it upset Kurogane, whose wish was to return to his world as soon as he could. Opposites attract.

*


	4. Chapter 4: Lawless

**Chapter Four: Lawless**

To say that Kurogane was less than thrilled with being paired with Fay in this way would be a gross understatement. Furthermore, it only added insult to the injury of his "true name," HOMELESS. He growled and withdrew his hand from Fay's, rising abruptly.

"What a stupid name," he grumbled. He balled his hands up in fists, then stalked out of the room; he left the apartment building and stood outside on the side of the street, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He looked up at the sky without bothering to shade his eyes against the bright morning sun. It was a different sky than the one he had been born under, though this world was like his in many ways. Except for the mysterious names, the writing system looked similar to his own and the _jinja_ they visited yesterday was similar to the shrines they had in Nihon.

Kurogane had made a promise to return to Nihon, a promise he intended to uphold, and he wasn't going to make it back if he stood around brooding. The only way to get out of this word and into the next was to find Sakura's feather. Kurogane held on to the possibility that the next world would be Nihon, or the world after that. There was only one way to find out.

A pair of teenagers, a boy and a girl, were sitting on the stairwell halfway up. The girl had a long black pleated skirt and appeared to be wearing only bandage wound around her torso under her long red jacket, no shirt. The boy had a black leather jacket and wore his hair in a style that reminded Kurogane of one of the gangs in the Hanshin Republic. He was waving a cigarette under a young girl's face.

"Don't worry, princess," he cackled. "It won't hurt ... too much."

The girl backed away from them and as she turned slightly, to check the distance between herself and the flight of stairs behind her, Kurogane saw her face. He had been watching carefully, waiting for the right moment to intervene. Any plans he might have made fell apart when he recognized her.

"Princess Tomoyo!" He lunged up the stairs, taking them three at a time. The teenagers looked down, startled by the sudden noise; Kurogane had been moving as silently as only a skilled ninja could before then. Unfortunately, his movement took the girl by surprise as well and she stepped back, stumbling down the stairs. Kurogane caught her and set her carefully down on the step behind him.

"If you don't mind," drawled the girl, "we were playing with her." The boy snickered. Kurogane didn't say anything. "We wouldn't hurt her, just teach her a lesson. She needs to learn that there are some people her mommy shouldn't mess with."

Still Kurogane said nothing.

"If you're not going to give her back, we'll just have to _take_ her," said the boy, getting to his feet. "I declare a battle by word spell."

Kurogane perked up. He had been itching for a fight for a long time now, as they had mostly been to peaceful worlds. While he knew he ought to be relieved, he needed to stretch his legs and practice in order not to get rusty. "I accept." He paid enough attention to Sorata's puppet show explanation to have enough of an idea how to do it.

"Fighter systems, engage!" The girl stood behind the boy, a metal pipe in her hand. Sorata hadn't mentioned anything about weapons, but that was more Kurogane's style, anyway. She reached out and took the boy's hand. "Lawless," they said in unison, "we don't follow no rules!"

The boy cackled and cracked his knuckles and the girl swung the pipe around over her shoulder, grinning wickedly. "You know what to do, Kenta. Destroy them."

Kenta was faster than Kurogane expected. "Imprison!" The word hit Kurogane with more force than the lithe girl could have ever swung the pipe, and the way she tossed it around made Kurogane believe she could hit pretty hard. Instinctively, he brought an arm up to protect his face as he reached for the bannister with his other hand to keep from falling down the stairs. His block stopped the impact, but the force of it wrapped firmly around his wrist.

When the wind generated by the attack subsided, Kurogane discovered what appeared to be a leather cuff with a chain on his wrist. It hurt. He didn't have time to recover before Kenta launched into a barrage of spell words. "Constrain. Restrain." The cuff on Kurogane's wrist tightened. "Detain." A cuff appeared on his other wrist. "Subjugate." Both wrists were bound together. "Enslave."

The boy practically crowed with glee as a collar like the cuffs appeared around Kurogane's neck, nearly choking at him. He grimaced and braced himself on the steps. He didn't back down, though with his restraints he didn't stand a chance.

"Where's your fighter unit, Mister Chivalry?" called the girl, still swinging the pipe ominously. "I was hoping it would be a _little_ more interesting than this, Kenta."

"I was too, Iseul. What a whimp." He aimed a kick at Kurogane, who dodged it easily, despite his confinement, and kicked back. Kurogane had much better aim, and he caught the boy square in the chin. Iseul stomped down the stairs, pipe gripped in white knuckled hands.

*

Upstairs, they all heard the ear-splitting noise of a spell battle beginning. Sakura dropped the dishes she was helping put away. The plate shattered.

"Princess," cried Syaoran, jumping nimbly over the shards of pottery to Sakura. As he had the day before, he placed his hands over hers so that he covered her ears against the sound. Mokona leapt from its perch on the counter to Syaoran's shoulder, then wiggled it's way between Sakura and him, covering it's ears. None of them saw its eyes pop open, and it's exclamation was lost amid the noise.

Fay cringed. The sound was excruciating. He felt a new sensation in addition to the piercing whistle; a feeling of being pulled along, as though on a string. He could _see_ the string, wound loosely around his middle. It trailed through the small apartment and out the door, still at waist height. He could see the same around Sakura and Syaoran, binding them together where they stood.

He waved to get their attention and pointed out the door. "I'm going," he said, above the sound. It was still there, a tinny note that dragged on endlessly. "Wait here." The tug of the string around him was irresistible; he allowed himself to be dragged along, following where it lead. Out the door, down the hall, into the stairwell. Down several flights of stairs, to -

"Kurogane!"

*

"I was wondering when you'd come," said a girl with bleached white hair and no eyebrows. "Your sacrifice has been waiting."

"Yeah, Homeless, we didn't think you'd ever come. What a shitty name, sucks to be you."

It took Fay a minute to connect Kurogane's restraints with the information about the word spell battles that Sorata had explained. The mark on his hand burned, and it appeared to be glowing like the string that bound him to Kurogane.

"What an idiot," said the boy, crossing his arms, "letting his sacrifice fight _alone_. Dumbass."

"You look like a wuss. I was hoping a big guy like him would have an big fighter, someone _strong_. This is so boring," the girl added. She twirled the pipe in her hands. "C'mon, Kinta. Kick their ass."

"Dominate!"

The bindings spread to Kurogane's legs, nearly making him fall down the stairs. Still, Fay was torn between interceding on his behalf and his vow not to use magic.

"Exploit."

This time the bindings did make Kurogane fall. His knees hit the cement steps with a sickening _crack_. Fay winced.

"Control -"

Fay cut him off, straightening his back and looking Kenta right in the eye. "Sorry," he said cordially, stepping down between the black clad teenagers and Kurogane. "That's not very nice, is it?"

"Possession!" Kenta's voice wavered. He was getting frustrated.

"Hmm, I don't think Kuro-chi would like that very much." Fay felt the magic surge through him, an alien magic that felt nothing like his own; he found himself reflexively tracing words in the air as he said them. A faint glow surrounded the letters he wrote in the air, though it appeared as gibberish to anyone but himself. Sorata had mentioned the power of complicated spells over single words, and Fay had paid attention. Fay D Flourite was the wizard of Celes, he only played the fool. "Ignoring the rules is cheating, isn't it?" His voice echoed off the bare walls. "So I guess you've lost You should go away now."

Fay lifted a hand and spelled out the word 'departure,' or it's Celesian equivalent. Pale blue tendrils wrapped and wound around Lawless, and the pair of them disappeared along with the bonds on Kurogane. The little girl was beside him before Fay had even realized that the battle was over. She placed her hands on Kurogane's wrists and looked up at him anxiously. Kurogane looked over her head at Fay, who leaned against the railing. He looked suspicious.

"Lucky guess?" said the magician, sticking his hands in his pockets and shrugging his shoulders. Kurogane narrowed his eyes, and Fay knew he wasn't going to get away with saving him. He looked away.

---

**author's note:** I try not to include these, but I wanted to thank my fabulous beta, Corva, who is wonderful and amazing~ Every good idea in this chapter was her's (and every bad one was mine).


	5. Chapter 5: Dreamless

**Chapter Five: Dreamless**

"Kurogane-san! Fay-san!" In her effort to help her friends, Sakura unwittingly blocked the door to the apartment and had to be nudged gently out of the way. "Are you hurt?"

Over her head, Fay looked to Kurogane, who shook his head.

"Please," said a small voice, "let me take care of it." Tomoyo stood just outside of the entrance, unwilling to come in unless invited. "I live on the top floor, please come up and allow me to thank you properly for your kindness."

She was smaller than the other Tomoyos they had known, and like the other children in this world she had cat ears and a tail, but she was just as stubborn as the others. She refused to take no for an answer, and before long, they found themselves gathered around an elegant dining table. Tomoyo was in the kitchen preparing the finest green tea. She served Kurogane first, then Fay, then Syaoran, Mokona, and finally, Sakura.

"My hero," she said, hugging Sakura's middle. Sakura blushed and Kurogane looked over, surprised. "I've been waiting for you."

"Waiting ... for me?" asked Sakura, tilting her head to the side.

"Yes," said Tomoyo. "I have something for you."

Syaoran looked up from his tea, startled. He looked to Kurogane, who shrugged slightly. It couldn't be this easy to find and retrieve one of Sakura's feathers. Even in the Hanshin Republic and Piffle, both friendly worlds, had seen them fighting to return to Sakura what was rightfully her's. Tomoyo took Sakura by the hand and bowed out of the dining room, sweeping her 'hero' along with her.

"Do you think -?" blurted Syaoran.

"Don't hope for it," said Kurogane.

"Mokona thinks the feather is still too far away," said Mokona, wiggling. Its ears stood up on end as it strained for a signal. "Mokona thinks its in this city, but not in here. Mokona is sorry, Syoaran."

Though Kurogane was right to tell Syaoran not to get his hopes up, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He worried about Sakura not having her memories back; though she was awake more than she had been at the beginning of their journey, she still slept like the dead and Syaoran often worried about how cold her hands were. He sighed. "It's not your fault, Mokona. I will get the feathers back, no matter what."

"Mokona will help!" announced Mokona, jumping up into Syaoran's hand.

"I told you in the Hanshin Republic that I need to keep moving from world to world, and that I would help you. Both of those things are still true," said Fay. He carefully avoided eye contact with Kurogane, who he could feel watching him.

Kurogane said nothing, merely nodded to Syaoran. If he was going to add something, he was cut off by Tomoyo's return.

She was tugging Sakura's hand, pulling her back into view.

Sakura wore a long dress, with a big bow on the front. The sleeves puffed out around the shoulders and there was a wide collar with a simple brooch. Beneath the skirt were many layers of petticoats, and the lace at the bottom of her bloomers peeked out around her ankles. She was wearing a pair of Mary Janes with cute little bows on them, and a big bonnet.

"You don't think it looks too weird?" Sakura asked, blushing furiously. It was similar to the dress she had worn in Jade, but the dress in Jade had not looked out of place. The frilly concoction she wore now was nothing like the simple pleated skirt and collared shirt Tomoyo wore, or the simple kimono Arashi had given her earlier.

Syaoran blushed and stammered something nearly incomprehensible, but Kurogane was sure he heard the word _beautiful_ somewhere in the stuttering and mumbling.

"You look lovely, Princess Sakura," said Fay, with a warm smile. Sakura smiled back and stopped fiddling with the bow.

"Did you make this, Tomoyo-chan?" asked Sakura, remembering her outfits from Piffle and the dress she had helped make for Yuuko, and eager for a subject change.

"No," said Tomoyo with a sigh. She put her hand to her cheek and tilted her head and Kurogane was struck by how much she resembled his own Tomoyo, not just in looks but in acts. "I'm learning to sew, but I'm not very skilled. This belonged to my Aunt Nadeshiko when she was in high school. It was the first dress she wore for her modeling contract, and it was always her favorite."

"_There_ you are! Tomoyo!" A short-haired woman in a professional looking outfit burst in through the front door. She ran to Tomoyo without pausing to take off her stiletto heels and threw her arms around her. "I was so _worried_, Tomoyo!" she scolded. "Your bodyguard called me on my cell phone to tell me that they didn't know where you were!"

There was another woman behind Tomoyo's frantic mother. She was tanned and lithe, wearing a simple black suit and standing at attention.

"Souma!" Kurogane never really got used to seeing other versions of people he knew in Nihon in other worlds.

"I don't believe we've met?" she asked cooly.

"No," Kurogane shook his head, "we haven't."

Tomoyo's mother, meanwhile had calmed down enough to remove her shoes and toss them casually back into the entranceway. She smoothed Tomoyo's hair. "Please don't leave Souma's side, not during this case. If anything happened to you, I - Nadeshiko?"

She looked up over Tomoyo's shoulder at Sakura, as if noticing her for the first time.

"N-no." Sakura shook her head. "My name is Sakura."

"Sakura," she repeated, and then, even more quietly, "she always said she would name her daughter that, but she ..." Tomoyo took her mother's hand, and this seemed to snap her out of her reverie. "My name is Sonomi. Daidouji Sonomi. I see you've met my daughter, Tomoyo."

Sakura bowed. "It's very nice to meet you. Tomoyo gave us tea and me - this ... dress," she added, worried that Sonomi would be angry with her for wearing it. She wrung her hands.

"She's the girl from my dreams, Mom," said Tomoyo. "The ones I told you about. My _hero_." When her mother didn't respond, she continued, "and this man, Kurogane, saved me." Tomoyo pointed to him, and her mother gently pushed her hand down. "Isuel and Kenta were being mean to me again."

"You should stay here with Souma," repeated Sonomi.

"I know," said Tomoyo. "But Kurogane-san saved me."

Sonomi and Souma bowed. "Thank you very much," said Sonomi. "I'm very grateful, and I'm sorry Tomoyo caused you trouble."

Fay never stopped finding it amusing when Kurogane blushed, and this time was no exception. He stifled a laugh as Kurogane turned red and looked away and said something about it being his duty. Fay was strongly reminded of Syaoran's blushing whenever he spoke to Sakura.

"I just wanted to got for a walk," said Tomoyo, looking at her feet.

"You have homework," said Sonomi, crouching so she could look Tomoyo in the eye, "and Souma has allergies."

"But I _have_ to find that feather," said Tomoyo, and suddenly all eyes in the room were on her. Syaoran sat up with a start, upsetting his teacup. Kurogane managed to catch it before Syaoran spilled boiling water all over his lap. Mokona jumped from the table to Tomoyo's arms, and Sonomi gasped in surprise. As things settle, Tomoyo added, "the girl in my dreams told me so."

"Sakura told you so?" asked Sonomi.

"No," said Tomoyo, hugging Mokona stubbornly, "the other me did. The one in the pretty kimono."

Kurogane gaped. Fay leaned over and elbowed him in the ribs. "It's not polite to stare, Kuro-chi," he whispered, then ducked out of the way. Kurogane shook himself.

"You know about my feathers?" asked Sakura. Tomoyo nodded. "You were looking for them? For me?" Tomoyo nodded and Sakura hugged her.

"The other me said that they were very important to you," she said.

"They're the most important!" cried Mokona. "They're Sakura's most important thing!"

Sonomi blinked several times at Mokona, who smiled and waved to her. "What ... is that?"

"Mokona is Mokona!"

"Of course you are," said Sonomi, but Tomoyo grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled her over to Sonomi before she could continue.

"See, Mom?" said Tomoyo, "I have to help her find it. The other me said that I had to help."

"You're really looking for ... feathers?" asked Sonomi. Sakura nodded. "I'm not sure why Tomoyo has to help."

"If Tomoyo-hime says she does, then she saw it in a dream," said Kurogane, standing up. He towered over Sonomi, but she didn't look even a little bit intimidated. "Princess Tomoyo is a dreamseer," he said, "and if she's contacting this Tomoyo, she is, too."

"Please let me help Sakura-san find her feather," said Tomoyo.

"I'll protect her," volunteered Kurogane. "If Tomoyo-hime says we need her help, we need her help."

"Kuro-sama really will if he says he will," added Fay.

"See? I'll be safe, and I can help Sakura find her most important thing. This man protected me earlier," she added as a reminder, "and he didn't even know me. Fay-san helped," she added, and Fay smiled at her.

Sonomi looked from Kurogane, to Fay, to Sakura, Mokona and Syaoran. Tomoyo was still holding Sakura's hand, and Sakura looked so much like Nadeshiko.

"If I say no, you'll sneak out again once I leave, won't you?" asked Sonomi. Tomoyo grinned. "If she doesn't come back, it's on your head," she informed Kurogane. Kurogane cracked his knuckles in response.

"Let's go find your feather," said Tomoyo, taking Sakura by the hand. Syaoran joined them and they went out the door, followed by Fay and Kurogane.

"Call me when you get home," called Sonomi. Beside her, Souma sighed. "Try and get some sleep," she suggested. "I had a dream, too, about Nadeshiko. She told me to trust them." She smiled and looked up at the framed photograph on the wall, of a young woman with long curly hair, wearing the same dress Tomoyo had given Sakura. "I didn't understand, but she told me then to trust her daughter. She always wanted a daughter named Sakura. I guess somewhere, in another world, she had one."

---

**author's note:** (yes, another one) Sorry this took so long! My life is currently exploding and Corva was out of town, neither of which is conducive to writing.


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